It is known to make a wide variety of structures from concrete. By way of non-limiting example, such structures may include walls (e.g. for buildings, tanks or other storage containers), structural components (e.g. supports for bridges, buildings or elevated transportation systems), tunnels or the like.
In many applications, the concrete used to make such structures is unsuitable or undesirable as a surface of the structure or it is otherwise desired to line one or more surfaces of the structure with material other than concrete.
By way of non-limiting example, consider the use of concrete to form tilt-up walls. Concrete tilt-up walls are typically formed in a generally horizontal plane (e.g. on a horizontal table) and then tilted to a generally vertical plane. A form is created on the table by suitably fastening form-work members to the table such that the form-work members extend upwardly from the horizontal surface of the table. Concrete is then poured into the form. The form-work members (including the horizontal surface of the table) retain the liquid concrete in the desired shape. Concrete, prior to curing, or other curable material, prior to curing, may be described herein as being liquid, liquid concrete or liquid material for brevity. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that concrete, prior to curing, or other curable material, prior to curing, need not be a homogeneous liquid and may comprise solid particles within a mixture exhibiting liquid characteristics in contrast with cured concrete or cured material, which is a solid. Some tables are configured to vibrate to assist with an even distribution of liquid concrete. When the concrete solidifies, the concrete structure is hoisted from the form and tilted from the generally horizontal orientation of the table into a generally vertical orientation by a crane, a suitably configured winching apparatus or the like.
A drawback with prior art tilt-up walls is that all of the surfaces of the wall are bare concrete. Bare concrete surfaces have a number of limitations. Bare concrete may be aesthetically unpleasing. Consequently, prior tilt-up walls may not be suitable for certain applications where there is a desire to have an aesthetically pleasing finished surface on the walls. In addition, bare concrete typically has a somewhat porous or otherwise non-smooth surface which is difficult to clean and which provides spaces for dirt to accumulate and bacteria and other organisms to grow. Consequently, prior art tilt-up walls may not be suitable for certain applications where there is a desire to provide a sanitary environment. Bare concrete may be susceptible to degradation or damage from exposure to various chemicals or conditions, such as, by way of non-limiting example, salt, various acids, animal excrement and whey. Consequently, prior art tilt-up walls may not be suitable for certain applications where the wall might be exposed to such chemicals.
Various apparatus and methods for lining concrete structures/walls exist. However, due to the widely varying shapes and sizes of concrete structures/walls, prior art concrete liners must be custom designed and fabricated for each application.
There is a general desire for efficient methods and apparatus for lining one or more surfaces of concrete structures with material other than concrete, without having to custom design and fabricate a lining for each application.